LONG BEACH – Gang members and guns were at the top of the list for hundreds of police, probation and parole officers who swept through Long Beach and neighboring cities Wednesday.

A spike in gang violence earlier this spring, including an alarming rise in shootings and slayings, prompted the South Los Angeles County raids, officials said.

Long Beach Police hit 90 locations, many of them before sunrise, taking 35 suspects into custody and seizing six guns, said Gang Enforcement Detective Joe Pirooz, who coordinated the effort.

Also taken into evidence was marijuana, including 5-foot plants pulled from the ground in North Long Beach, and methamphetamines, resulting in a number of arrests for possession of the drugs, including a few incidents of possession for sale, Pirooz said.

The show of force included members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the L.A. County Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who also hit homes in Bellflower, Lakewood and Paramount, police said.

“Long Beach had the lion’s share of the arrests,” Pirooz said after tallying the results from the operation. “We also severely impacted several area gangs.”

Initially, the LAPD’s Harbor Division was scheduled to hit about 20 locations in the Wilmington/San Pedro area, but those plans were put on hold in light of the NBA championship parade, police said.

The sweeps were not only a response to the uncharacteristic spike in crime during a normally quiet period, they were also designed to set the tone for summer, which typically see increases in violent and property crimes, said Gangs and Violent Crimes Lt. Randy Haushauer.

From April 1 through May 17, 53 shootings were reported in Long Beach and 30 of them were confirmed as gang-related, said Long Beach Gang Enforcement Sgt. Jerry Poole.

Of the 53 shootings, 11 resulted in deaths and 71 percent of the incidents occurred in neighborhoods within the police department’s North and West Divisions, Poole said.

“Although we’ve seen shootings on the rise citywide,” Haushauer noted.

“All these involve a wide range of gangs,” Poole added.

The operation began before 5 a.m. at Long Beach Police Department Headquarters and included roughly 150 officers from Gang Enforcement, Youth Services and Patrol’s Directed Enforcement Teams, Haushauer said.

Officers were broken up into roughly half a dozen teams, including one that the Press-Telegram shadowed that consisted of Gang Enforcement officers, members of the Probation Department’s DISARM (Developing Increased Safety Through Arms Recovery Management) Division and a U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agent.

One probationer on the team’s list of 10 was found to be in good standing and following the rules imposed on him by the court, including holding down a job. After a brief search of his mother’s apartment, the man was left with a cheery wave and goodbye.

Four others who were found in violation of their probation and parole or had warrants already issued in their names were taken to jail.

Another five men were not where they claimed to live.

Most of the targets, and their relatives, were bleary-eyed and surprised to see the teams of armed officers at their front doors.

A few have been through the process before and were cooperative, while some had never seen such a display and said they were irritated by the inconvenience of having their homes searched and everyone in the residence questioned.

Noel Aguilar and his mother appeared fairly blasé about their 5 a.m. wake-up call, although Aguilar was already in the shower when police arrived.

The 18-year-old, whose alleged gang names include “Baby Boy” and “Pistol,” has been on probation for slightly more than a month following a grand theft auto conviction.

The grand theft charge stemmed from a car stolen on his birthday, he said. He claimed his friends stole the car and he was merely swept up in the matter when they were stopped by police.

“Who was driving?” one officer asked.

“I was,” Aguilar said, prompting a few laughs from the officers.

He also told police they would not find any weapons or drugs in his homes. Within a few minutes, however, detectives reportedly located a smokeless pipe and some marijuana, a bandana and notebooks filled with suspected gang writing and tagging.

“Whose pipe is that?” a detective asked.

“It’s my friend’s,” said Aguilar.

“Oh, so your friend left the pipe in your house while you’re on probation?” the officer asked.

Aguilar mumbled in response.

Aguilar told officers he had not found work because he had yet to get his California ID.

Around his neck dangled a chain with a gold grim reaper charm, a present given to him at the age of 14 by his aunt.

His mother told police that during the day, when Aguilar’s father is at work, her son dresses like a “cholo.” But when dad gets home late at night, she said, he changes into “school clothes.”

Aguilar’s body was also covered in tattoos that included the name of his gang emblazoned across his belly. The same gang name and one of his monikers, “Pistol,” was scrawled in paint on the sidewalk in front of his home, along with the number 13, a reference to the Mexican Mafia.

The probation department flagged Aguilar after learning he allegedly threatened a woman in his neighborhood with an ice pick, authorities said.

“This guy is definitely someone who isn’t done gang-banging,” Poole said after Aguilar was in custody. “He’ll keep going until he gets sick of being booked in and out or until he gets killed or kills someone.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.